Ray Lane – why he quit Oracle

Following his recent resignation, Ray Lane, erstwhile number two to Larry Ellison at Oracle, has spoken about the real reasons for leaving the company. Ellison has also done a bit of a U-turn and is now claiming that Lane quit the company after his responsibilities had been reduced.

In a series of interviews, Lane has told CNet that in recent months Ellison had stopped consulting him over decisions. He told the Web site: "I asked him if he wanted me to leave and he said: 'No, we just need to communicate more. I want you to know what is in my head, and I want us to be seen in public more. We need to communicate more, so there's no confusion among employees and customers as to what's the company's direction'."

Lane also said that he thought if he hadn't resigned, he would have been let go. Apparently Ellison called him while he was holidaying in Oregon. The two had a fundamental disagreement over part of the company's policy, and Lane offered his resignation.

The company then announced the resignation implying that it had been planned for some time, and was part of a long term transition. Ellison has told the Wall Street Journal that he was very careful in what he said when discussing Lane's departure. He said that what he meant when he said the departure had been planned, was that he had "planned" the call to Lane, and had "planned" to announce the resignation that Wednesday. ®